Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,013 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,372 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 5,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, KFG Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.05.

Hershey Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE HSY opened at $149.19 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.01. The stock has a market cap of $30.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $147.60 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.